CHILLICOTHE

Produced by Preston Stutzman, Cory Edwards, Rob Yanovitch, Brad Knull
Written and Directed by Todd Edwards
Director of Photography - Brett Reynolds

Wade - Todd Edwards
Shane - Cory Edwards
Robin - Jenny Labow

The list of movies that inspire me is a short one: CHUNGKING EXPRESS, ALL THAT JAZZ, EVIL DEAD, THE PALM BEACH STORY, and maybe a handful of others.

The list of movies that embody what I want to say as a filmmaker is an even shorter one: MAD DOG AND GLORY, STREETWISE, and SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS.

Todd Edwards' CHILLICOTHE is on a list all by itself, it's not a movie that speaks to or for me, it's a movie that does both. CHILLICOTHE isn't just about Edward's and his friends, it's about me and mine, you and yours, or countless other close circles of twenty-somethings dying inside from terminal ennui while they wait for the rest of their lives to start.

There's so much I can relate to in CHILLICOTHE. Every character does or says something I've found myself doing. From the starving video production guy selling his CD's (and blood) for cash, to driving by a crush's house just because you know she's in there. I've been there. Done that. I'm not proud of those moments, but I'm beginning to think all those things might be universal for mid-west filmmakers.

The actual town of Chillicothe is in Ohio, just south of Columbus, not Oklahoma where the movie is set. My cinema education was in Dayton, OH, and my racquetball partner grew up in Chillicothe. Never been to the town, nor had a desire to visit. As far as I'm concerned, if you've seen one mid-western town, then you've seen them all. It's all mindset: landlocked, flat, desolate, nothingness - the kind of place where it's easy to loose your dream.

My dream was the same as Todd Edward's Wade, to make some art. Somewhere along the way Wade put down the dream to pick up a White Castle burger and forgot where he sat it. For those not in the mid-west, White Castle is a pretty popular fast food joint, the same with Skyline Chilli. If you don't grow up on either one, you're not going to like them (at least that's what I'm told). Soon enough, you've guzzled so much soda trying to wash away that horrible mid-western fastfood aftertaste that you can't move. But that's okay, because those from the area aren't really moving anywhere either. Your complacency matches their contentment.

Just getting through the day isn't anyway to live. That's why I left. That's why Wade needs to leave. The hardest part is just figuring that out. There's something about the mid-west that traps you in your own self-awareness, blinding you from life's options. You know you're treading head-above-deep-shit but you aren't sure what to do about it.

Scary.

With CHILLICOTHE, Todd Edwards wrote his own ticket out. He made a movie about his life. His friend's lives. My life. And probably yours too. I laughed so often during CHILLICOTHE because I shared Todd's pain. There's a kinship through familiarity. If you've been to one "Chillicothe", you've been to them all...and you'll understand why I've fallen in love with this movie. You really should see it.

The DVD is like any standard release, nothing overly special. Movie, making-of retrospective, trailer, and a wonderfully amusing director commentary when the audience is giving a second helping of Todd's self-deprecating humor through his anecdotal musings about the CHILLICOTHE's production. The DVD liner notes that there are other trailers to films released on DVD br The Asylum, but even with an individual track search I couldn't find them.

Blue Yonder Films
Vanguard Cinema